CHICAGO — A community meeting was held Monday night at Union Park where members of the public voiced their frustration over the city’s lack of notice and transparency to the latest migrant shelters opening in the Near West Side.
The latest city operated shelter to house asylum seekers at a three-story building located at 1644 West Walnut Street in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood.
More than 14,000 migrants have called Chicago home since last August. There are more than 2,000 still waiting to be placed at a shelter and they’re living at overcrowded police stations and the airports.
Although residents feel blinded of the new arrivals moving in their neighborhood, many are still welcoming them with open arms.
The city also expects to open another migrant shelter on at a five-story building on North Ogden Avenue in the Fulton Market neighborhood on Friday, Sept. 22.